Withings at CES 2014 with Aura to improve sleep

Withings has revealed a new gadget called Aura that will be showcased at CES 2014 this week and aims to help people improve their sleeping habits.

There is no doubt Withings will feature many of their app-connected products at CES 2014, although Withings Aura is one of the latest releases in the health and fitness category.

Considering we spend a third of our life sleeping, or try to, it makes sense for companies to market products in this area and Withings hope to revolutionize the way we sleep with their Active Smart Sleep System. It is also worth noting that the Withings Aura was given an Innovation Award at CES this year.

The Withings Aura connects to a sensor pad you place under your mattress and takes sleep tracking to another level, which is thanks to combining sound, light, and science to deliver a much better sleep. You will be able to gain access to sleep sequences and an intelligent wake up system, by using Aura, and if you have problems waking up then these might be solved by a gadget that uses different methods of sound and light to help the body release melatonin.

In its simplest form, the Withings Aura acts as a speaker and alarm clock but in reality the device is much more than this and will track smallest movements called “micromovements”. Other devices on the market don’t necessarily track these tiny movements during sleep.

Withings state the Aura will also track heart rate and breathing cycles to deliver more detailed results. The data allows Aura to wake you up in a more complex way, so you apparently feel refreshed rather than being abruptly woken by a loud alarm.

The release date window for Withings Aura has been set for “spring 2014″, and should have a price of $299 for the kit that features a nightstand light/alarm and one sensor pad.

There’s cheaper solutions like the Philips wake-up light that retails for under $100, but the Philips system doesn’t track sleep in the sophisticated way Aura will although you have to justify the extra cost.